WOW Tech Group and Lovehoney combine to form the
Lovehoney Group (LHG)

Bath/Berlin (12 August, 2021) — WOW Tech Group and Lovehoney join forces, as two of the global market leaders in sexual wellness. Together with Swiss brand Amorana – acquired by Lovehoney in 2020 – they now form the Lovehoney Group (LHG)..

The transaction combines Lovehoney’s leading international operations and brands – including Fifty Shades of Grey – with WOW Tech’s powerhouse Womanizer, We-Vibe, Romp and Arcwave family of brands. The combined group will be led by WOW Tech CEO Johannes Plettenberg. Lovehoney and WOW Tech will continue to be run by their current management teams.

The group’s focus will be on delivering exceptional B2B customer service, including creative and demand-driving marketing across all touchpoints, as well as buzz-worthy PR campaigns to raise awareness and keep the brands at the forefront of consumers’ minds. Additionally, LHG’s strategy will continue to be focused on enforcing its extensive patent portfolio, which will be pursued with full force to protect the B2B partners’ commitment to the strong brand portfolio.

LHG is now home to more than 650 highly trained professionals from over 25 nations, located in eight offices across the world with a broad spectrum of talents across engineering, industrial design, sales, and marketing, and will continue to provide best-in-class brands and truly innovative and high-quality products to its retail partners.

LHG’s lead investor is Telemos Capital, the majority owner of Lovehoney since 2018. CDH Investments, which holds a significant stake in WOW Tech, stays on board as a minority investor as do the co-founders of Lovehoney Neal Slateford and Richard Longhurst.

Johannes Plettenberg, CEO of the Lovehoney Group commented:

“We are excited about this transaction and partnership. Amorana, Lovehoney, and WOW Tech share the same mission to destigmatise sexuality, empower people to enjoy a fulfilling love life, and experience sexual happiness. Combined, we will be even better placed to contribute to bringing sexual happiness to the centre of society. This will benefit our entire industry. We are looking forward to continuing to work with our teams to create even more value for all our B2B partners and their customer base. By partnering even more closely together, I am certain we can all achieve our common goals.”

About Lovehoney

Established in Bath in 2002 by Richard Longhurst and Neal Slateford, Lovehoney is a market-leading pleasure products brand. Its focus on exceptional product innovation, customer service and marketing has placed Lovehoney at the forefront of developments in the sexual wellbeing market. In recognition of the business’ achievements, Lovehoney received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2016 and again in 2021 for outstanding continuous growth in overseas sales. In 2018 Telemos Capital became the majority owner of Lovehoney.

About WOW Tech Group

WOW Tech is one of the leading companies in the sexual wellness industry and a provider of premium products for consumers’ love lives. The Company’s primary focus lies in the research and development of new innovative products. CEO Johannes Plettenberg laid the foundation for WOW Tech as early as 2017 when he, together with investors led by Munich Rigeto, took over the German company Womanizer. The following year Womanizer merged with the Canadian sex toy manufacturer We-Vibe, and WOW Tech Group was born. In early 2020 CDH Investments became the majority owner of Wow Tech Group.

About Telemos Capital

Telemos comprises a team of highly experienced investment professionals that combine the best of private equity and permanent growth capital. Founded in 2017, Telemos identifies and supports exceptional management teams in consumer goods, healthcare services, and business services to help them realise their long-term objectives. As a flexible and nimble investor, Telemos’ distinct structure and expertise make it a leading, new generation European private equity firm, looking to identify and unlock attractive opportunities for growth and value creation.

About CDH Investments

Founded in 2002, CDH is one of the most well-established alternative assets management firms in Asia, with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. CDH manages six USD-denominated private equity investment funds and other investment strategies, with cumulative assets under management of approximately USD26 billion (as of December 2020). CDH has partnered with over 150 companies, most of them leaders in a range of consumer and healthcare industries. CDH employs a long-term investment philosophy centred around empowering industry-leading teams in their efforts to grow and create value for all stakeholders sustainably.

Womanizer wins “Best of Best” in the “Product Brand of the Year” category, the highest honour of the German Brand Award 2021

Berlin, June 16th, 2021 – For the sixth time, the German Design Council and the German Brand Institute have honoured successful brands with the German Brand Award, one of the most important brand awards in Germany. It recognizes companies that stand out from the competition for their exemplary brand management, sustainable campaigns and exceptional marketing projects.

Womanizer, one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of sexual wellness products, was named “Best of Best” in the “Product Brand of the Year” category, making it one of the big winners of the prestigious competition.

The Jury’s statement: Self-confident, unique and successful

“The Womanizer brand presents itself as extremely modern, fresh and aesthetically sophisticated with a focus on product benefits that is as clear as it is convincing. The brand design with its bright colours are eye-catching and absolutely unique. Above all, however, the appearance is extremely likeable and addresses the subject of female masturbation in a wonderfully natural way, which helps immensely to break down inhibitions.

“The clever combination of innovative technology, appealing design and self-confident messages about a taboo subject succeed in positioning and asserting itself rapidly and successfully in the highly competitive sex toy market. It is impressive and a well-deserved reward for a high degree of courage and empathy,” 

Johanna Rief, Director Public Relations at Womanizer, on the award:

“We are very pleased to receive this award and see it as confirmation for the great work our team has done in the past years. We have shown that we have a good feel for current trends and developments and are experts in brand building and management. It takes courage to destigmatise masturbation and to show that it’s a normal part of a fulfilled life. The award also confirms that we create relevant content for our target group. Their feedback and support is ultimately what counts and is most important to us.”

About Womanizer

Womanizer develops high-quality pleasure products for your love life. Founded in 2014 with the invention of the patented Pleasure Air Technology, Womanizer is now an internationally recognised brand with offices in Berlin, Hong Kong, Ottawa and Shanghai. More than 4 million people in over 60 countries have already purchased a Womanizer. With the global #IMasturbate campaign, the brand is committed to destigmatising masturbation and sexuality, and thrives for an open, shame-free dialogue about sex, because every person deserves a sexually fulfilled life. Womanizer is, like Arcwave and We-Vibe, a brand of the WOW Tech Group.

Press contact: Susan Wolters, press@womanizer.com

About the German Design Council

The German Design Council is one of the world’s leading competence centres for communication and knowledge transfer in the field of design, brand and innovation. More than 350 companies currently belong to its circle of founders. The German Design Council was founded in 1953 on the initiative of the German Bundestag to strengthen the design competence of the German economy. Its multifaceted activities pursue one goal: to communicate the sustainable enhancement of brand value through the strategic use of design and innovation.

The Queen honours sexual wellness brand Lovehoney for boosting UK exports

The Queen has honoured the UK’s biggest sexual wellness brand with a top award. Lovehoney has received The Queen’s Award for Enterprise for outstanding continuous growth in overseas sales over the last six years.

Since 2015, overseas sales have grown from £12 million to £56 million, an overall rise of 365%. The award – described as ‘the highest accolade for business success’ – allows Lovehoney to use the Queen’s Award emblem in advertising, marketing and on packaging for a period of five years as a symbol of quality and success.

Debbie Bond, Lovehoney’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We are thrilled to have received official recognition from the Queen. Her Majesty has been a wonderful supporter of Lovehoney as we have grown into being the world’s leading sexual wellness brand.

“Royal patronage will help us to create more jobs at our Bath headquarters and in our international offices and spread the sexual happiness message globally.

“The Queen is the UK’s greatest trade ambassador and royal approval shows again how mainstream shoppers and retail outlets are embracing sexual wellness products as never before and appreciating their importance in improving overall well-being – a particularly important message as we come out of lockdown after a stressful year living with the pandemic.”

Lovehoney is the UK’s biggest online adult retailer and has eight other websites globally including US, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, EU, Canada and New Zealand. It has a global customer base of 2.2million people and a 300-strong workforce.

Lovehoney’s global expansion was boosted by winning the official licence to make all official Fifty Shades of Grey pleasure products. It has created several ranges with E L James, author of the trilogy, including new collections to celebrate the books’ 10th birthday this year.

This is the second time Lovehoney has won a Queen’s Award from Her Majesty. It received the Queen’s Award for International Trade five year ago and founders Richard Longhurst and Neal Slateford and other winners met the Queen and Prince Philip at a garden party at Buckingham Palace.